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“We might be able to get you through,” Sam said.

“What?” I said. “How?”

“I’ll explain on the way.” He was already heading briskly back to the camp. “The king and queen are in their tent with Duchess Gruoch.”

Ilyana and I scurried to catch up with him, my sisters following close behind. “They’re with Gruoch?” I asked. “She’s here?”

“Aye.” He nodded. “And you should talk to all three of them. As soon as you possibly can.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The War Council

On the way to the king and queen’s tent, I learned bits and pieces of what I’d missed. Back in the Swamp of Monsters, my sisters eventually realized that Ilyana, Sunbeam, and I weren’t going to rejoin them. Since there was no way to find us, or even determine whether we were alive or dead, they used the genius’s map to find their way out of the swamp, worrying the whole time that we might have perished.

My sisters encountered some difficulties along the way, including a nest of giant funnel-web spiders. (I hate giant funnel-web spiders. Each one eats an average of eight humans a year. True fact.) But they were able to fight their way through, and when they emerged from the swamp a few days before we did, they came across the combined Ecossic and Tailliziani army.

Queen Jacqueline and King Gervase had gathered their forces together as soon as Lulach warned them of the coming invasion. Messages had been sent to their allies, but with so much chaotic disarray in the northern kingdoms, none were able to dispatch their troops in time. But just as the army of Tailliz was about to march south, a small fleet of ships sailed into the harbor. Ships bearing the flag of the sheep rampant.

“At first, we thought it was an attack,” King Gervase said when we arrived at the tent. Or he did once he’d stopped gaping at Ilyana and I’d quickly explained what we had to do. “But after the initial confusion, the duchess sent a messenger over to tell us that she wanted to join forces.” He jiggled the newborn child in his arms.

Gruoch grinned. “Lulach came tae me richt efter he went tae them. I wasnae aboot tae let Tailliz hae all the fun.”

“And we’re grateful for the support.” Queen Jacqueline gave my eldest sister a narrow-eyed glance that didn’t entirely accord with her words. Gruoch ignored it. At a guess, Jacqueline still hadn’t forgiven Gruoch for trying to murder her the first time they met. It can be difficult to get past that kind of thing, but war makes for strange bedfellows.

There wasn’t much room in the tent, so only Ilyana and I had gone inside to consult with the three of them—king, queen, and duchess. Or four of them, really, counting Gervase and Jacqueline’s new baby. Briar, the heir to the throne of Tailliz—I was certain Jacqueline would ensure that her child would rule whether it was a boy, a girl, or something else altogether. It didn’t come up and I hadn’t asked.

“We picked this spot because it’s a choke point,” the queen explained, putting on her battle armor as she spoke. “It’s just north of Moersbad, right outside the Red Empire border. A narrow strip of clear land between the Swamp of Monsters and some sheer cliffs.”

“Best place tae haud them off,” Gruoch grunted.

“I thought it looked familiar,” Ilyana said. “Good choice.”

Gervase inclined his head to her. “A small army can fend off a larger one here. We made it just in time; the Red Empire army was only a few miles south when we arrived. But…” His voice trailed off.

Jacqueline jammed a helmet on and buckled her sword belt around her waist. “But when we saw the size of the Red Empire army, we realized it didn’t matter. It’s not just a larger force; it’s an overwhelming one. They can keep throwing bodies at us until they break through.”

“You have the magical knights,” I said.

“Sure, a few of them. How many wizards do they have? A hundred? More?”

“Melilot happened to be with us, though,” Gervase said, “and she was able to buy us some time.”

“She made the fire rain,” I realized. Holy shit. Sam’s girlfriend had devastated an area miles wide to keep the Red Empire forces from charging through. “Why didn’t she dump it on their heads?”

Gruoch spat on the floor, which seemed a little rude in someone else’s tent. “She tried. The Red Empire wizards kept it back. She was able tae halt their progress, but that’s it.”

“And that won’t last much longer,” Jacqueline said grimly. “She’s been keeping it going for days. She’s exhausted.”

For once, I could sympathize with the terrifying sorceress. “Tell her to take it down, then. When Ilyana and I make it to the emperor, the war will be over.”

Gervase and Jacqueline exchanged a silent look. The tent’s canvas walls bowed in and puffed out as the night wind blew past. A strong wind, drawn by the heat of the raging inferno close by. A set of roughly drawn terrain maps pinned to the walls rustled as they moved.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Gervase asked Ilyana. “I’m not fond of the idea of forced marriage.”

Ilyana smiled tiredly. “I’m not fond of it, either. But if the other option is everyone here getting slaughtered, I’ll take one for the team.”

“Well, I don’t like the idea of sending Jules intae the middle of an enemy army,” Gruoch said. “I came here tae protect mah kinfolk, nae put them in even mair danger.”